Heidelberg

Existing in a market that's changing almost as rapidly as is the market of its competitive counterpart, today's imagesetter is showing that delivering PDF performance and end-to-end productivity isn't purely the direction of the digital platesetter. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO With all the talk about the digital platesetter, the imagesetter is often overlooked. Should an investment even be made in an imagesetter when so much enthusiasm and technology are being placed in the conventional and thermal CTP direction? Does the imagesetter still remain a staple, smart investment for prepress environments poised for eventual full-tilt digital workflows? Make no mistake. The answer is YES. Imagesetting

ITHACA, NY—Nationally recognized Wilcox Press recently disclosed its plans to remain privately owned, ending months of speculation about potential buyers. In addition to the announcement, the 73-year-old publications printer has restructured its management team, made up of individuals with diverse areas of expertise and backgrounds to foster the future of the company. Despite losing some key personnel, including its former president and a vice president, Wilcox Press has remained strong by reorganizing its management team, placing four individuals in leading vice president roles—and not filling the position of president. As Brian Bostrom, director of purchasing, puts it, "This move has opened up the

Louisville, KY's Gateway Press invests in equipment and workers. BY ERIK CAGLE THE SEVEN Dwarfs may not be working in the bindery department, but it's a safe bet that there are Gateway Press employees who whistle on their way to work. Save the Hi-Ho jokes; this Louisville, KY-based commercial printer is a real workers' paradise. Even as the company grows bigger—an $8 million expansion added, among other things, 20 new jobs and brought the total number to nearly 300 employees—the personal touch can still be felt. How much do the employees love their work? The average tenure is 14 years. Although the company was

BY JERRY JANDA As the leader of a publicly held company with a strong global influence and more than $50 million in sales, Michael Cunningham has positioned himself as a power broker in the graphic arts industry. But not too long ago, he was just a broker—worried about going broke. Throughout most of the '80s, Cunningham earned his living selling printing for two companies. One of these companies handled Cunningham's primary business: research reports. It was a good arrangement, until the late '80s. That's when the company decided printing this type of work wasn't profitable enough. At first, Cunningham looked for a new company

BIRMINHAM, UK—Technology innovators in prepress, press and postpress turned their collective attention to England recently as IPEX drew global crowds to this industrial city. Heidelberg rolled out the Speedmaster 74 DI, Screen jumped into the digital press ring with TruePress, Kodak Polychrome Graphics touted Kodak Approval XP4, Scitex marketed its Lotem family of platesetters, and Agfa Div., Bayer Corp., put the spotlight on Thermostar P970 and P971 for 830nm and 1,064nm thermal CTP, respectively. Technology highlights turned to new innovations in color management, thermal CTP, digital offset presses, variable data software enhancements, digital color proofing innovations, new scanning systems, large-format printing solutions, imagesetters and

As the commercial printing segment absorbs more digital presses, the promise of digital links—such as Agfa's PrintCast—adds profit potential to the on-demand investment. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO One year ago, PrintCast was launched. It was to be a digital link, a worldwide facilitator of distribute-and-print capabilities. Agfa had a vision for PrintCast: a distribute-and-print network with a hub operation based in Agfa's Wilmington, MA, facility that would digitally—via ISDN—link all Chromapress installations. The objective was clear. The PrintCast hub, the nerve center of the distribute-and-print network, would consist of dedicated facilities, personnel and equipment—all connected by high-speed ISDN links to Chromapress customer locations interested

How profitable are digital press investments? Not very—if on-demand postpress support is lacking. Finish-on-demand is just as important as its glamorous partner, as any on-demand printer can well attest. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The finishing component of on-demand digital printing is every bit as important as is the high-tech print engine that drives the most elite of digital presses. If the finishing finesse is missing, despite the best performance power of the finest digital color press, a digital print job is not only at risk of not being on-demand, but not being on time. As more traditional offset commercial printers and short-run shops go

The teeming class of digital color presses seems to be on the verge of a graduation of sorts. Xeikon celebrated the shipment of its 1,000th digital color press earlier this year, a DCP/32D. Indigo reports well over 1,000 E-Print shipments globally. Xerox boasts more than 4,000 DocuColor 40 units installed worldwide. Heidelberg's Quickmaster DI continues to flood the market. All this is happening just as Agfa's variable printing Chromapress and the Scitex/KBA-Planeta Karat continue to push the technology forward. But that doesn't mean new classmates, like Screen's recently launched TruePress and the Quickmaster's big brother, the new Speedmaster 74 DI, aren't ready to

How profitable are digital press investments? Not very—if on-demand postpress support is lacking. Finish-on-demand is just as important as its glamorous partner, as any on-demand printer can well attest. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The finishing component of on-demand digital printing is every bit as important as is the high-tech print engine that drives the most elite of digital presses. If the finishing finesse is missing, despite the best performance power of the finest digital color press, a digital print job is not only at risk of not being on-demand, but not being on time. As more traditional offset commercial printers and short-run shops go

When John E. Spenlinhauer Jr. passed away, the competition said Spencer Press was finished. John E. Spenlinhauer III proved the competition wrong. BY JERRY JANDA In May of 1972, Spencer Press, then a sheetfed operation, took its first step into the world of web offset with the installation of a Heidelberg Harris M-1000A press. For John E. Spenlinhauer III—chairman, CEO and the driving force behind Spencer's equipment investments—it was a pivotal moment. He realized his Hingham, MA-based company needed web equipment to remain in business. "There was not a full-size web in the metropolitan Boston area," Spenlinhauer says, "and there was a lot of